Newspaper dispensing device



' Npv. 17, 1959 Filed Dec. 31. 1952 cs. A. MYERS 2,913,144

NEWSPAPER DISPENSING DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 flENToR y Q QWNEY Nov. 17,1959 G. A. MYERS NEWSPAPER DISPENSING DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed D90.31, 1952 Z 1.9 "m n E 51E 5 E \n ,w .2 a M g .H im- H L W 5 @Hw g 7 .3 gJ, 4 X m 5 {lrl y 1? nBu Nov. 17, 1959 a. A. MYERS 2,913,144

NEWSPAPER DISPENSING DEVICE Filed Dec. 31. 1952 s Sheets-Sme t s m n R mm m d m M W m T U an Q M n I .v a n n a. n M n 9. m g mi m m i 1 i u m uY r O a Add/ United States Patent NEWSPAPER DISPENSING DEVICE George A.Myers, Bethesda, Md.

Application December 31, 1952, Serial No. 328,969

7 Claims. (Cl. 22'134) This invention relates to a device for dispensingnewspapers and the like. More particularly it relates to such a deviceas may be placed at street corners, bus stops and other publiclocations, where a purchaser may upon depositing a coin and operating asimple lever, obtain a paper.

While newspaper stands or racks have been used at such locations theyhave, for the most part, been unsatisfactory. Often the papers will beblown or will become ruined by rain or snow. Moreoften where the honorsystem of depositing a coin in a cup is employed, the company supplyingthe papers suffers a loss, not so much from dishonesty of purchasers,but more often because of forgetfulness in making a deposit, making thecorrect change, or failure to pay later when a paper is taken at a timewhen the purchaser is either hurried or does not have change.

It is an important object to provide a coin-controlled newspaperdispensing device which is not subject to these drawbacks and which atthe same time is simple in construction and easily and reliablyoperated.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such a device which,by simple adjustment at the time a supply of papers is placed therein,can accommodate and dispense with eaqual facility editions or issueswhich may very greatly in thickness.

The invention has for a further object the provision of a newspaperdispensing device in which the opening through which the papers aredelivered one at a time is adequately blocked so as to prevent entranceby a hand or an instrument for the purpose of purloining one or morepapers.

These objects of the invention, and no doubt others as well, should beapparent from the following description and claims when read inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective of a device embodyingthe invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the inner slide member;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the device with the cover open;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 44 of Fig. 3 andlooking forwardly in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3 andlooking rearwardly in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 3,looking in the direction of the arrows, and illustrating the device inits first or rest position;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 but showing the device in its secondposition;

'Fig. 8 is a similar view showing the parts in a third position;

Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 99 of Figure 3 withthe papers removed and with the nearer side wall of the outer casingremoved so as to show the mounting of one of'theslidespringsin-elevation; and

I 2,913,144 Patented Nov. 17, 19 59 Fig. 10 is a perspective detail ofadjusting means used with the invention.

In outward appearance the device may be similar to that illustrated inFig. 1, where it is comprised of a rectangular box-like casing 10. Thecasing is mounted on any suitable support, such as the legs 11, so thatpreferably the forward end slants downwardly.

The casing may be made of sheet metal, plastic or like materials and iscomprised of a front wall 12, side walls 13 and 14, a rear end wall 15,and a top cover 16 hinged at 17 to permit it to be opened so that asupply of newspapers may be placed therein. The cover 16 is alsoprovided with a window 18 of any suitable transparent ma terial so thatthe kind and extent of supply of newspapers to be dispensed from thecasing can be readily and conveniently ascertained. The casing 10 isprovided with a bottom 19 which requires special mention.

As will be noted from Fig. 6, the front part 20 of the bottom 19 is ofsingle thickness sheet material and is disposed at a level raised fromthe level of the rear part 21 of the bottom from which it is separatedor spaced by a cut-out or opening 22 which (Fig. 3) extends transverselyof the casing. The rear portion of the casing 10 is provided with aso-called false bottom above the part 21 as mentioned, comprising bottom23 spaced a short distance above the part 21 and parallel thereto. Thepart 23 is provided with raised ridges or corrugations 24 (Figs. 3 and5) extending from the back to the front edge and the purpose of which isto facilitate the sliding of a newspaper thereover during dispensing ofthe newspapers as will be later described.

The inside of the casing 10 is provided with a transverse partition 25which divides the casing into a rear compartment 26 in which thenewspapers are disposed for dispensing and a smaller forward compartment27 which houses some of the operating mechanism as will be described.The partition 25 extends from the top edge of the casing 10 to a pointspaced above and to the rear of the rear edge of the front bottom part20. The partition 25 is secured in place to the side walls 13 and 14 ofthe casing by means of the flanges 28 and rivets 29 or the like. a

The rear compartment 26 of the casing 10 is also provided with falseside walls 30 and 31 which are parallel to and spaced a short distancefrom the side walls 13 and 14 respectively of the casing 10. These falseside walls 30 and 31 are provided with front and rear edge flanges 32and 33. The front flanges 32 are joined by rivets 34 or the like to thepartition 25 (Fig. 3), and the rear flanges 33 to the rear wall 15 ofthe casing.

- The principal purpose of the false bottom and false side walls, asdescribed, is to provide a support and guide for the slide 35 shown inFig. 2. The structure, arrangement and disposition of this slide willnow be described.

With reference to Fig. 2 it will be noted that the slide 35 there shownis provided with a front wall 36 the lower edge 37 of which is providedwith a rectangular cut-out 38. The side walls 39 and 40 each have anupper edge in the same plane as the upper edge of the front wall 36. Aforward part 41 of each side wall 39, 40, is of a depth equal to thedepth of the front wall 36, but the rear part 42 of each side wall 39,40 is of greater depth.

The slide 35 has no rear wall, and the bottom 43 only:

The manner in which the slide is disposed within the.

casing for sliding movement therein is perhaps best ap-- preciat'ed froma consideration of Figs. 3, 5 and 6. It will be seen from these figuresthat the side walls of the slide are disposed between the real and falseside walls,

of the casing. Thus the side wall 39 of the slide (Fig. 3)

.3 is disposed between one main side wall 13 and the false side wall 30of the casing 10, while the other side wall 40 of the slide is disposed.between the other main side wall 1.4 and .its ffalse side -wallfil..From Fig.6 it will be observed that the bottom 43 of the .slide 35 isdisposed between the main bottom -2l.of the casing and itsdfalse bottom23. The front-36 of the slide is disposed forwardly of the partition 25.

Secured to the front wall 36 of the slide 35 (through means which willbedescribed later) is an operating rod 45 which extends forwardly throughthe front wall 12. The front end of the rod 45 (Fig. 6) is connected bya slot and pin connection 46 to an operating handle 47 pivoted .as at 48.to a bracket 49 on the front wall 12.01? the casing .10.

IDownward movement of thehandle 47, it will be seen, will result inmovement of the slide 35 forwardly within the casing 10, .from theposition shown in Fig. 6 to that of Fig. 7 as will be described. Uponrelease of the operating handle 47 the slide 35 is returned to itsnormal position of rest (Fig. 6), by means of the springs 50 and 51(Figs. 3 and 9) which are joined at their forward ends to the slide 35by means of eyescrews 52 or the like, and .at their rear ends to therear end wall 15 of the casing by means of the links 53.

,.A most important feature of the invention resides in the provision ofaseparator or divider. In the embodiment shown this .divider54iscomprised of a plate (Figs. 3 and 6-9) of sheet metal or the like.This plate extends transversely of the apparatus and, intermediate itsfront and rear edges, is hinged as at 55 to the front wall 36 of theslide. As seen in Fig. 4 the hinges 55 are located in the rectangularcut out 38 in the lower edge 37 of the front wall of theslide.

The portion 56 of the divider 54 extends rearwardly of'the front wall 36of the slide and this portion slopes downwardly (Figs. 6-9) to aseparating nose edge 57 and then is'bent forwardly and downwardly toform a paper directing guide58.

'The position of the divider 54 can be adjusted so that its separatingnose 57, as will be described, can divide and guide newspapersregardless-of the thickness of the particular edition or issue to bedispensed. This adjustment is accomplished by means of the followingmechanism. Secured to the front wall 36 of the slide 35 is a bracket 59on which is secured a cylindrical element 60. It is through this element60 that the operating rod 45 is secured to the slide. Passing throughthe bracket 59.and element '60 is a threaded bolt 61 the upper end ofwhich is connected to a dial knob 62 marked with graduated indications.The forwardly extending portion 63 of'the divider 54 is provided with aslot through which the bolt 61 passes. Threaded on the bolt 61 is a nutelement 64 comprised of two spaced enlargements 65 on a hollowinternally threaded portion. The slot 63' in the portion 63 of thedivider 54 engages this portion of the nut element between the spacedenlargements 65. A detail in perspective of this is shown in Fig. 10.With thisarrangement it will be noted that turningthe dial knob 62-willcause the bolt 61 to turn thus moving the nut element 64 and the portion63 of the divider upwardly or downwardly so as to effect a complementaryupward or downward movement of the separating nose 57 of the div'ider54.

Since the width (from folded edge to the free edge) of a newspaper willvary depending upon the number of pages'in the issue, it is preferable.to provide means for adjusting the front to back dimensions of the rearcompartment in which the newspapers are placed. This may simply beeffected by providing an adjustable rear parfition 66 adapted to beslidably disposed, selectively, in one or the other of several sets ofgrooves 67, 68 in the false side walls 30 and 31.

The device functions in the following manner. A batch of newspapers 69.of a given issue .is placed .in the rear 4 compartment 26 of the casingby means of raising the top cover 16 after which the cover is locked toprevent removal of the papers by unauthorized persons. The papers 69 arethen in the position shown in Fig. 6, with the folded edges of thepapers forwardly and with the forward lower edge portion of the bottompaper resting on the downwardly sloping portion 56 of the divider 54directly above the opening '22. In such position, it will be seen thatit is impossible for anyone to remove a paper through the opening 22. Itwill also be noted that the papers in this position rest also upon thefalse bottom 23 of the casing 10.

Newspapers 69 may be removed from the device only by moving theoperating handle 47 downwardly. Some suitable coin-controlled mechanism(not shown) is employed to prevent movement of the handle unless anduntil a proper coin is deposited. There are numerous such known deviceswhich could be used for this purpose. They form no part of the presentinvention and therefore will not be described here.

Assuming it is desired to remove a paper, after the proper coin or coinsare depositedso as to permit movement of the operating handle 47, thehandle is moved downwardly to the position shown in Fig. 7. :Suchmovement results (through the rod 45) in moving the slide 35 forwardly.This causes the divider 54 to be moved forwardly and .clear of thenewspapers 6? so that the forward portions of the newspapers aresupported .by the forward edge portion of the bottom 43 of the slidewhich has now moved forwardly so as to block the opening 22. .In thisposition the bottom 43 of the slide prevents removal of any newspapersthrough the opening.

The forward movement of the slide 35 as described is effected againstthe action of the springs 50 and 51. When the handle 47 is released,these springs cause the slide to move to its rearward position. In somoving, however, the separating nose'57 of the divider 54 is forcedbetween the folded edges of two newspapers, as seen inPig. 8, thuscausing the folded edgeof the lowermost newspaper to be forceddownwardly through the opening 22 in the casing by the paper directingguide 58 so that it may be grasped and pulled completely out by thepurchaser. The removal of this paper is facilitated by the corrugationsor ridges 24 on the false bottom 23. Rollers or other suitable means(not shown) could be employed in place of, or to supplement the ridges.Moreover, a roller or the like (not shown) could be provided along theforward edge of the slide bottom 43. After a paper has been removed thepapers above drop down so that they occupy the starting position shownin Fig. 6.

The advantages of providing a divider '54 the nose of which isadjustable vertically should now .be apparent. Since editions ofnewspapers vary in thickness depending on the number of pages andsections thereof, and since the divider, during operation of the device,is adapted to be moved (with the slide) rearwardly so as to separate thelowermost newspaper from the one just above it, the vertical position ofthe nose of the divider should besuch that it will move directly betweenthe papers. The arrangement disclosed herein iseasily and simplyadjusted to accommodate editions or issues ranging from small to thelarge Sunday editions.

Without doubt changes may be made in the structure and arrangement ofthe parts shown without departing from the invention, which should notbe limited except as indicated by the language of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A newspaper dispensing device comprising, a casing in which a supplyof newspapers is adapted tobe placed, said casing having a rectangularopening therein through which said papers are to be dispensed one at atime, said casing being in the form of a rectangular box with saidopening in the bottom thereof, a partition dividing said casing .intocompartments .onemf which is substantially of the dimensions of a foldednewspaper and is adapted to receive a supply of newspapers, said openingbeing at one end of said newspaper compartment and adjacent saidpartition, that portion of said bottom forming the bottom of saidnewspaper compartment being comprised of two spaced parallel members, aslide disposed in said casing for sliding movement therein, said slideincluding a plate member mounted between said spaced parallel membersfor sliding movement into and out of said opening, said slide alsoincluding a transverse element disposed in the other compartment, aseparator and guide plate carried by said transverse element and, innormal position extending rearwardly to block said opening, and tosupport the folded edges of the newspapers of a supply in said casing,means operable from outside the casing for moving said slide so thatsaid separator and guide plate is free of engagement with saidnewspapers and in a position in which it does not block said openingwhile said plate member moves to a position blocking said opening andsupporting the folded edges of the newspapers in the casing, theposition of said separator and guide plate being such that during returnmovement of the slide it will separate the lowermost newspaper from thenext adjacent newspaper and forcibly guide the folded edge of thelowermost newspaper out through said opening where it may be grasped forready removal.

2. A newspaper dispensing device as defined in claim 1, and means foradjusting the vertical position of said separating and guide plate sothat the same may be used for separating editions or issues of differentthicknesses.

3. A newspaper dispensing device as defined in claim 1, said separatingand guide plate being hinged intermediate its front and rear edges tosaid transverse element, and means for adjusting the vertical positionof the rear end of said plate, said adjusting means including meansmovable in a vertical direction and engaging the front edge portion ofsaid plate.

4. A newspaper dispensing device as defined in claim 1, said separatingand guide plate being hinged intermediate its front and rear edges tosaid transverse element, and means for adjusting the vertical positionof the rear end of said plate, said adjusting means including meansmovable in a vertical direction and engaging the front edge portion ofsaid plate, the rear portion of said plate sloping rearwardly anddownwardly to a nose portion from which the plate slopes forwardly anddownwardly to form a guide portion.

5. A newspaper dispensing device comprising an outer casing in which astack of newspapers is adapted to be placed, a partition dividing saideasing into compartments one of which is of dimensions suitable toreceive a stack of newspapers, a rectangular opening in the bottom ofsaid stack-receiving compartment, a transversely reciprocating slidemember comprising a slide plate and a separating and guide platedisposed on opposite sides of said opening such that said opening isalternately covered by said slide plate and said separating and guideplate, a false bottom over a major portion of the bottom of saidcompartment and separating said stack and said slide plate and normallysupporting the bulk of the Weight of said stack, said separating andguide plate being mounted for movement in a horizontal plane and spacedabove the plane of said slide plate and having a V-shaped nose portion,the upper surface of said portion normally supporting the forwardportion of said stack, the surfaces of said nose portion being at anglesextending upwardly and downwardly from said nose and with saidhorizontal plane, said upwardly extending surface separating thelowermost paper from the remaining, said downwardly extending surfacedisposed to forcibly push the forward edge of said lowermost paper outof said opening with movement of said separating and guide plate in thedirection of said stack, said device further comprising means foractuating said slide member.

6. A newspaper dispensing device as claimed in claim 5 and furthercomprising a transverse element disposed in the compartment other thanthe stack-receiving compartment, rigidly attached to said reciprocatingmember and comprising means for pivotally supporting said separating andguide plate, and further comprising an adjustment means for adjustingone end of said plate in a vertical direction.

7. A newspaper dispensing device as claimed in claim 5 and furthercomprising false side walls parallel to the side walls of said outercasing to support said false bottom and a false rear wall adjustable inthe direction of motion of said slide member to accomodate differentlydimensioned newspapers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS472,492 Begg Apr. 5, 1892 704,466 Overpeck July 8, 1902 742,804 RupleyOct. 27, 1903 913,151 Neher Feb. 23, 1909 1,022,680 Johnson Apr. 9, 19122,255,538 Cameron Sept. 9, 1941 2,382,959 Cameron Aug. 21, 19452,488,897 Blane Nov. 22, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS 20,220 Great Britain Sept.19, 1903

